John Sealy Edward Townsend, 1868-1957

Extract

John Sealy Edward Townsend, one of the great physicists of this century, lived through a period during which the fundamental concepts of natural science underwent a bewildering series of changes. Unlike many of his scientific colleagues, he remained completely undismayed by the storms raging in the world of physics, though he accepted some of the new ideas with due scepticism. It is often noticed that scientists when they approach the end of their active lives turn to other fields of human endeavour such as mysticism, economics or cosmogony. But this certainly did not apply to Townsend, who remained a pure physicist until the end of his life.

Footnotes

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